Recipes and news from the makers of Zest Recipe Manager

Hello! it’s been seriously icy in Sydney these past few days and coupled with nursing a cold, I am hibernating indoors and have cancelled all social engagements for today. Self imposed hibernation is sometimes very enjoyable amidst a busy life – indulging in normal household activities means more engagement with bub and not just trying to rush from one thing to the next, ticking off a never ending checklist of things to do. So in the blissful mundaneness of the day, I got to show Miss One how to take the laundry out of the washing machine and help me with the hanging on the clothes line. Her very important job was to hand me the pegs – this consisted of walking back and forth from the bucket, transporting one peg at a time. She is my hardworking little helper!

As I watch her toddle back inside with the bucket of pegs swinging on her arm, I am just filled with love, pride and amazement at just how quickly this little girl is learning and growing up. I just wish I could freeze moments like that and store them for the rainy days in life.

So what do we need to top up a day of domestic bliss? Some baked goods of course!

There’s a ripe pear in the fruit bowl, an open carton of buttermilk in the fridge that needs using and the pack of sultanas that Miss One has smuggled out of the pantry (yes she knows how to open it now and has recognised which packet holds the coveted treats). So I decided to make the little Miss a sweet but healthy muffin with these ingredients for our afternoon tea.

Muffins are such magical things – it feels like you can just pick a favourite combination of ingredients, add flour, some kind of fat (oil or butter), egg, some sweetness and voila! 9.5 times out of 10, it’s a tasty treat! And they are also quick to put together – so easy that I was able to whip up a batch during bub’s nap today which is like being in a Masterchef challenge, only you have no idea when George is going to say “time’s up, step away from your benches”!

These days with priority directed towards nourishing a growing child, my muffins have taken on a more healthy tone so oats and coconut oil make regular appearances and here they are again in today’s creations. The pear was prepared two ways for a reason, not just to make life complicated – 1) the grated pear to give the muffin its moistness and 2) the chunks for bursts of pear flavour (of course Miss One picked out all the chunks to eat first). And one more tip before I give you the recipe – soaking the sultanas in hot water makes them nice and plump.

These muffins took a little longer than I expected and I suspect it was because of the slightly wetter mixture with the grated pear but the result was a nice moist cake. It’s probably not as sweet as most muffins but I think it is sweet enough, especially with the bursts of sultanas and pear chunks. Also I don’t want little Miss getting used to anything too sweet but if you do have a particularly sweet tooth, I would increase it to 1/2 a cup of sugar.

Now, if you have 35 odd minutes – go and bake yourself some tasty moist treats!

It must be a bumper season for mandarins this winter in Australia: there are stacks of them everywhere, super cheap and super sweet. We’ve always had a plentiful supply on hand for Miss One, but the little tyke can be fickle: she loves them one day and not the next! So with a few of them piling up and an episode of MasterChef tickling my sweet tooth (the high tea episode, to be precise, so many beautiful treats…) I knew what I had to do. But truth be told: I’d never cooked with mandarins before! This recipe leans on the success of my Syrupy Orange and Cardamon Steamed Puddings, although made with juice in place of some of the egg and milk (to enhance the mandarin flavour).

Instead of syrup I paired these little beauties with the extra richness of chocolate, which is always a great foil for citrus. Originally I used straight dark chocolate, gently melted, and for a quick fix it worked fine. But for a real treat make up a batch of my Rich Chocolate Custard: the extra body both in texture and flavour is worth the effort!

It’s still cold in Sydney: so do yourself a favour and get some of these warming little treats on the go!

Steamed Mandarin Puddings with Rich Chocolate Custard

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 4

Warm, fragrant citrus puddings lathered in rich chocolate, what more could you ask for on a cold winter night?

Ingredients

125g butter, softened

75g caster sugar

2 eggs

125g self-raising flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2 mandarins: zest finely grated and flesh juiced

For serving:

300ml rich chocolate custard

Instructions

Add the butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat until light and creamy (a standing mixer is best if you have one).

Add the eggs, one at a time, combining each one well before adding the next.

Remove the bowl from the mixer. Sift in the flour and clove and add the mandarin zest. Fold to combine the dry ingredients into the batter.

At this point you should have a smooth but thick batter. For moist puddings you need to bring the batter to a dropping consistency (where it will readily slide off a tilted spoon under its own weight) by gradually adding mandarin juice. Add juice, a bit at a time, stirring well and testing the consistency until it is ready.

Grease four individual pudding cups with a little butter, then divide the batter evenly among the cups. Be sure to leave some room for expansion (at least 1cm). Even out the surface of the batter in each cup.

Cover the cups with a square of baking paper then a square of foil, pleated in the middle allow extra expansion room. Secure the coverings to the cups with twine.

Cook the puddings in a double steamer over boiling water until just cooked through, about 22-23 minutes. Remove from the steamer and allow to cool slightly before uncovering and turning out of the cups. You may need to carefully run a knife around the edge of the cup to dislodge the puddings.

After my last post it probably comes as no surprise to see blood oranges feature again. The combination of orange and chocolate is a classic that came instantly to mind. My personal taste in chocolate desserts is maximum intensity in a small package, so I can enjoy each decadent morsel without feeling regret half way through. So it seemed natural to create these mini tarts with a dark, slightly bitter ganache offset by zesty pastry and fresh fruit segments.

You need just one decent sized blood orange for this recipe: the zest, finely grated, goes into the pastry and fresh segments are reserved for serving. Once set you should remove the tarts from the fridge so they can be served at room temperature, so the filling is softer and melts in your mouth for the full chocolate hit. Enjoy in moderation!

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the butter, blood orange zest and a pinch of salt, then rub the butter and flour together using your fingertips until there are no large lumps remaining (the mixture should resemble breadcrumbs).

Add the sugar and mix to combine.

Whisk the egg in a separate bowl, then add to the pastry a little at a time, mixing gently to combine. Once you have added enough egg (you won’t need all of it) the pastry should come together into a ball when mixed. Take care not to add too much egg or you will have a wet dough.

Flatten the dough into a thick rectangular block, cover in cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Prepare 8 x 8cm tart tins or (if like me you don’t have such luxuries) a muffin pan for the pastry. If you have smaller tins or prefer shallower filling you can make more tarts. When using a muffin pan you need to make sure you can get the pastry out: a non-stick pan is suitable as-is, otherwise I recommend greasing lightly with butter.

Remove the dough from the fridge and place between two large sheets of baking paper. Use a rolling pin to flatten it out into a sheet about 2mm thick.

To make each tart shell cut a circle from the pastry that is a bit larger than your tins (I used a 9cm cutter for my 8cm muffin pan), then carefully line a tin by pushing the pastry right into the bottom edge. You may need to stretch/press it a little up the edges so it is at least 2.5cm deep, allowing for a little shrinkage.

Line each tart shell carefully with baking paper and fill with baking beads (or raw rice), then place in the oven to blind bake. After 10 minutes gently remove the lining, then continue baking until lightly browned all over and cooked through on the bottom, up to another 10 minutes.

When cooked, remove from the oven and allow to stand for a few minutes to cool a little (not completely or they could stick). When the shells can be handled, remove them from the tins and place on a wire rack to cool completely before you fill them.

Now make the ganache filling. Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently boiling water to melt, stirring occasionally to avoid any burning on the bottom of the bowl.

Add the cream, sugar and salt into a separate saucepan and warm slowly to dissolve the sugar. Heat the cream to just below boiling point to prepare it for combination with the chocolate.

Now comes the important part: add all of the cream quickly to the bowl of melted chocolate, whisking as you do so. You need to incorporate the cream as quickly as possible to form a smooth ganache (if this is done too slowly the chocolate may seize).

Remove the ganache from the heat and allow to stand and cool slightly. Divide the filling evenly among the tarts, then place them in the fridge to set for 1.5-2 hours.

To serve, remove the tarts from the fridge well in advance so they can return to room temperature. Top each tart with a segment of blood orange and enjoy!

Notes

If you’re lazy like me you can use simple greaseproof (i.e. not decorated on the outside) muffin cases to line your tart shells for blind baking. Despite the pleating I find these do less damage to the tarts than handmade paper linings (unless you spend a lot of time shaping your own linings).

As they say: necessity is the mother of muffins. (Something like that, anyway!) In this case Jane was hungry one morning and not inspired by the food at home, but was trapped inside thanks to pouring rain. Scouting around the kitchen she found two very ripe bananas and some buttermilk (left over from blueberry pancakes), and a new recipe was born!

These are not your classic muffins: for starters we use coconut oil instead of butter. A generous helping of grains and walnuts add texture while contributing good flavour. These two changes make for a relatively healthy treat: not totally guilt-free but much better than your average cake. The muffins also cook quickly, so are perfect if you’re in a rush with guests on the way!

If you’ve been following my recipes you may have noticed I have a thing for custard. Delicious as it is, custard is also a fun component to play with as you can easily infuse it with new flavours. I’ve had it in my head for some time to try an earl grey infused version, and a high tea at our place seemed like the perfect fit. By chance I also came across some lavender petals the same weekend, and I’m happy to report they added another dimension of flavour and style! The tart really looked the business as part of our spread, and it was demolished in short order.

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the lemon zest, salt and butter, then rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until there are no large lumps remaining. (The mixture should resemble breadcrumbs.)

Add the sugar and mix to combine.

Whisk the egg and yolk together in a separate bowl. Add the egg mixture to the pastry a bit at a time, mixing gently to combine. With enough egg the pastry dough will begin to form together into a ball. You may not need all of the egg, so proceed slowly to avoid a wet dough.

Flatten the dough ball slightly into a thick rectangle, cover in cling wrap and place in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Remove the dough from the fridge and place on a lightly-floured surface. Roll it out to a long rectangle about 2mm thick.

Loosely wrap the dough around the rolling pin to lift into a long rectangular tart tin (35x13cm). Gently ease the the pastry into the edges of the tin so that it fits snugly, then trim any excess overhanging.

Place the tart tin in the fridge for another 15 minutes or so to allow the pastry to cool once more. (This makes it easier to line without damaging, and helps reduce shrinking.)

Remove the tin from the fridge, line with baking paper and fill with baking beads. Make sure the beads fill the space right to the edge so the pastry keeps its shape.

Bake the pastry for around 10 minutes until the edges are just starting to brown. Remove the lining and beads and bake for a further 2-3 minutes to cook the base through. Set aside to cool.

Turn the oven down to 120°C so it will be ready to cook the filled tart.

While the pastry is cooling, prepare the custard. Bring the cream to a very gentle boil in a saucepan, add the tea and lavender and allow it to infuse for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a mixing bowl until creamy.

When the cream has infused, strain to remove the tea leaves and lavender petals. Slowly add the warm cream to the yolks, whisking at the same time to form the custard.

Skim froth from the top of the custard to avoid bubbles in the tart.

Place the tart tin on the oven shelf so you don’t have to move it when filled. Pour in the custard, taking care not to over fill.

Bake the tart for 20-25 minutes or until the custard has just set through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

When the tart is at room temperature, dust with icing sugar, scatter with lavender petals, then serve with a nice pot of tea!

Notes

A tricky aspect of custard tarts is ensuring your pastry keeps both its shape and size so that it can be filled. If you’re worried, leave some excess around the edges to allow for shrinkage. If you intend to trim it, though, do so while still hot (straight after blind baking) or it will be too crumbly.

I’ve always thought of golden syrup as something quite Australian, possibly due to it being a key ingredient in Anzac cookies. And who wouldn’t want to lay claim to something this rich, sticky and delicious? Actually, though, it is pretty widely spread around the world and especially the Commonwealth. In fact after a tip from a friend I’ve become quite partial to the version from long-standing British brand Tate & Lyle. The classic green tin yields a slightly lighter, more refined version of the syrup than we’re used to in Australia. It’s a great addition, in place of some sugar, to many steamed puddings and cakes. In this recipe I’ve taken a classic Madeira batter (with thanks to James Martin’s “The Collection”) and modified it to add an extra hit of orange and decadent soaking of spiced syrup.

Fragrant Orange Cake with Spiced Golden Syrup

Recipe Type: Dessert

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Sweet, fragrant and spicy, this cake demands to be eaten warm with sticky syrup drizzling down the sides.

Ingredients

175g butter, softened

125g caster sugar

3 eggs

250g self-raising flour, sifted

zest of 2 oranges

zest of 1/2 a lemon

4 tablespoons golden syrup

juice of 1 orange

8 whole cloves

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Grease and line a round 20cm cake tin with baking paper.

Heat a small saucepan over a low heat. Add the orange juice and golden syrup and warm to a very slow simmer.

Cream the butter and sugar in a standing mixer until pale.

Take the syrup off the heat, allowing it to cool slightly.

Mix the eggs into the creamed butter mixture one at a time, then mix in half of the orange syrup and all of the lemon and orange zest.

Reduce the speed of the mixer to fold the flour through the batter gently.

Spoon the batter into the greased cake tin, lightly spreading to even it out. Bake for around 30 minutes.

About 10 minutes before the cake is ready, return the remaining orange syrup to a low heat. Add the cloves and keep on a very slow simmer to infuse the spice flavour.

When the cake is done, remove it from the cake tin and stand on a wire rack to cool for a few minutes.

Move the cake to a serving plate. Remove the cloves from the syrup and pour over the top of the cake, using a spatula to spread it while it is still warm. Serve immediately!

The Recipe

I’m still trying to pronounce the name of this recipe using the tips from Bizzy Lizzy’s original post On kakaós csiga and a moment shared (I think I’m slowly getting there!). Regardless of how you say it, Lizzy’s story grabbed me and the snails looked delicious so I added this recipe to my list. I decided a weekend away with friends would be the perfect time to give it a go — that way we could devour a whole batch fresh from the oven!

The Tweaks

I’ve not actually made this style of snail before, so as you’d imagine I didn’t fiddle too much. The recipe does give a couple of choices for ingredients. Firstly fresh or dry yeast — I had the latter on hand and used about 3.5g (half of a 7g packet) to roughly match 10g of fresh. I also chose buttermilk over soured regular milk (you never know, Jane might make pancakes with the rest of the carton 😉 ). I encountered one small issue when dividing the rolled dough into individual pieces. The recipe calls for a spatula, which I would also normally use at home when dividing dough. However, the spatula in our accommodation was quite blunt and crushed the roll too much on the first cut. I switched to a small sharp knife which worked out better.

The Verdict

Like any dough there is a bit of kneading and waiting time involved in this recipe, but other than that I found it nice and simple. The filling in particular is so easy to throw together and would be quite fun to experiment with. The end result is a delicious treat that is not too sweet — a good thing! As the snail is essentially a bread nothing beats one that is still warm from the oven. The chocolate is tastier when a little warm too. So while I’m sure you could keep them for a day or two: a) they just wouldn’t be the same, and b) how can you resist them that long! 🙂

This season we’ve been spoilt with an abundance of fresh figs from Jane’s parents’ own tree, so I’ve had plenty of time to be creative with this beautiful fruit. Figs (and raspberries) are so visually appealing I decided to try something a bit “prettier” than my usual style — and immediately thought of piped meringue. Dollops of creamy custard add richness, and happily also means the whole of the eggs are used in this single recipe. A final sprinkle of pistachios lends a savoury touch and a bit of crunch.

Credit where it’s due: I learned the technique of heating the sugar before adding it to the egg whites from the master of meringues (and many other things) Yotam Ottolenghi. Go and buy all of his cookbooks — now! And the brilliant photography is courtesy of Jane, who I rely on heavily as my resident “food stylist” ;).

Fig and Meringue Garden

Recipe Type: Dessert

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 4

Add a little sweetness and richness to some beautiful fruit for that real wow-factor!

Ingredients

8 figs, quartered

1 punnet raspberries

50g toasted pistachios, crushed

1/2 vanilla pod

150ml cream

50 ml milk

2 eggs

150g caster sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 190°C.

Spread 120g of the sugar on a lined baking tray and place in the oven for about 5 minutes to heat the sugar (keep an eye on the sugar as it must not melt).

Separate the eggs, adding the whites to a medium standing mixer bowl and reserving the yolks for the custard.

Just before the sugar is ready, start whisking the whites with the mixer on a high speed. As the whites begin to foam, remove the sugar from the oven and immediately start to gradually trickle it in to the whisking whites to form the meringue.

Continue whisking the whites for at least 15 minutes to ensure the meringue is shiny, firm and smooth.

While the meringue is mixing, move on to the custard. First combine the cream and milk in a small saucepan.

Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the knife, adding them to the cream mixture.

Bring the mixture to the boil then turn off the heat and stand for at least 5 minutes to allow the vanilla flavour to infuse.

While the cream infuses, add the egg yolks and remaining 30g of sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk together until creamy and combined.

Slowly add the infused cream to the yolk mixture, whisking as you go, to form the custard.

Return the custard to a saucepan and cook over a low heat, ensuring it does not boil, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 5-6 minutes).

To serve, get creative! Pipe the meringue onto the plate using a piping bag with a 1-1.5cm nozzle and colour with a chef’s torch. Arrange the fruit artfully then drizzle with custard and sprinkle with the crushed pistachios.

This recipe was inspired by a dish at our favourite local French bistro, Bistro Bruno. We were served a similar brûlée on our first visit to Bruno, several years ago (before I was a local!). It left an impression and I’ve been meaning to try out something similar ever since. The stars seemed to align with the current abundance of limes and a Thai dinner planned on Sunday — the perfect prelude to this dessert.

The lime ice was a late addition. The brûlée only uses the lime zest, and I wanted to avoid wasting the rest of the fruit. The result is a pleasant, refreshing foil to the rich custard. It’s great as a palate cleanser before the brûlée, or as a fresh break during and afterwards. If you have another use for the lime flesh, though, you can simplify the recipe by omitting the ice.

Credit for the basic brûlée recipe goes to my recently-acquired cookbook The Science of Good Cooking. For recipes that can be tricky, like custards, this book gives detailed instruction with accompanying explanations. A great gift from my sister-in-law!

Coconut and Lime Crème Brûlée with Lime Ice

Recipe Type: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Prep time: 50 mins

Cook time: 3 hours

Total time: 3 hours 50 mins

Serves: 4

A brûlée with a difference: still luscious but slightly less rich and more fragrant.

Ingredients

4 limes

1 1/4 cup thickened cream

3/4 cup coconut cream (choose a high-quality, high-fat brand)

70g (about 1/3 cup) caster sugar, plus extra for topping

6 egg yolks

pinch of salt

2/3 cup water

3 tablespoons sugar

toasted coconut flakes, to serve

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 140°C.

Zest the limes with a fine grater or zester, avoiding the white pith.

Add half of the cream, half of the coconut cream, 70g caster sugar, zest and salt to a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.

Remove from the heat and let stand for at least 15 minutes to allow the lime flavour to infuse.

Meanwhile, line a deep baking dish with paper towels, space 4 medium ramekins in the dish and bring a full kettle of water to the boil.

When the warm cream has infused with lime flavour, add the remaining cream and coconut cream and stir to combine.

Add the egg yolks to a large mixing bowl and whisk well.

Add the cream mixture to the eggs in 3-4 separate batches, whisking to combine after each batch.

When the egg and cream mixture is well combined, strain it into a jug through a fine sieve (to remove the zest).

Divide the mixture evenly among the ramekins.

Place the baking dish on the oven tray, then carefully pour the boiled water into the dish until it reaches at least 2/3 of the way up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake until the centre of the brûlées are just set, about 25 minutes (the shallower the ramekins, the shorter the cooking time).

Remove the ramekins from the water bath and place on a wire rack to cool for 2 hours, then cover with cling wrap and refrigerate to chill.

While the brûlées are cooling, prepare the ice. Combine the juice of the limes with 2/3 cup of water and 3 tablespoons of sugar in a small saucepan.

Heat the mixture over a low-medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar.

Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Pour the cooled mixture into a shallow tray and place in the freezer to set.

Check the ice occasionally to mix and break it up with a fork. When it is just set, use the fork to scrape the ice into shavings. Keep the shaved ice in the freezer until ready to serve.

To serve, remove the brûlées from the fridge and uncover. Add about 1 teaspoon of sugar to the top of each ramekin, spreading it into an even, thin layer. Use a chef’s torch to caramelise the sugar.

Allow to cool, optionally refrigerating again to chill the custard, then garnish with toasted coconut and serve alongside lime ice.

Notes

Fresh, firm limes with smooth skin are much easier to zest and will yield much more flavour.

Try replacing the zest with shredded kaffir lime leaves for an even more fragrant variant of this recipe!

Slender, vibrant stems of rhubarb had been a regular temptation on recent trips to the markets, so coming across this Gourmet Traveller recipe was all the excuse I needed. My main change to this recipe was more of an “untwist”: the recipe calls for sourdough, which I don’t see working that well, so I switched it out for the more classic brioche. I also soaked and fried the bread on both sides, rather than just the bottom. The combination of these changes requires a doubling of the egg and milk mixture used to soak the brioche. Naturally there were more twists:

The recipe calls for far too much honey, both on the roasted rhubarb and in the mascarpone. I used maybe half as much, and wouldn’t want any more unless my rhubarb was particularly sour.

I also toned down the orange juice in the rhubarb jam, adding a little of the zest instead.

Keep on eye on the rhubarb, I put mine in the oven before it got to temperature and checked it after 12 minutes to find it was already a bit past the ideal!

The end result was worth the effort. My favourite aspect is having the rhubarb two ways — the jam was sweeter with a hint a spice and a good hit of orange, while roasting gave a more pure rhubarb flavour. If you can get your hands on some tender rhubarb, give it a shot!